Port Aransas

This weeekend, Andy and I took a much-anticipated trip to the beach! We needed to get the road trip started off right. A pound of Rudy's moist brisket did the trick!

Makes me hungry just looking at it!

We got to Port A somewhere around 11:45 and were stressed that we would miss the ferry. We missed the Swan Quarter ferry when we were in the OBX last year, and it was not a fun experience. Little did we know, this ferry was a much shorter ride AND it runs 24-7. Here you see the lights of Port Aransas as the ferry crosses over.

Palm trees at our motel- the Captain's Quarters. Which sadly I cannot say that I recommend. We've got our eye on the Tarpon Inn for our next visit.

But I can recommend Bundy's for breakfast. Great food and terrific coffee. We stopped in both Saturday and Sunday morning for some food and a cup o' joe.

I LOVE packing for the beach. I brought everything we could conceivably need for a day of fun in the sun.

Andy pre-sunburn.

Sun and a book. Yes, please.

More good eats came at dinner when we made our second visit to Port Aransas Brewing Company. We went there last August after Andy's water jump in Corpus Christi. That trip made us decide we had to come back! We've fallen for their crab-stuffed jalapeno poppers. Dip those bad boys in some Ranch dressing to curb your appetite after a day of fun in the sun.

Notice the contrast of Andy's skin tone to the "Daily Brew". Red much? I have no idea how this boy burns so bad! He stayed under the umbrella and put on sunscreen! What am I going to do with him? ;-)

Sunday was a day for kayaking and fishing. We stopped at Port A Outfitters for some bait.

This kitty lives at Port A Outfitters and knows how to take it easy. ;)

We left the island mid-morning and after the short ferry ride, headed to the Lighthouse Lakes Trails. They're kayaking trails. Leave it to me and Andy to find a trail to exhaust ourselves on when we're supposed to be relaxing!

Andy tried his hand at catching some fish, but after getting skunked for about 45 minutes, we decided to take a yak trip to the Port Aransas Lighthouse. We passed by these birds on the way. Sorry it's so hard to see them. The app I used to take these pics doesn't allow me to zoom.

The Port A Light is apparently still functional, but it's only accessible by water. (I think) We passed by with our yaks. Across the channel from the Lighthouse is an uninhabited island that we read was supposed to be great for shelling. Of course, we had to go, but crossing the channel was no joke. It made me think of our other crazy yak trip to Aqua-Palooza....

When we got to the island, we were really surprised to meet this hare! Can you see him just to the left of the bush in the center? Again, no zoom and he wouldn't let me get very close to him before he started to hop away.

But this little crab let us get much closer!

Andy saw the crab in his hole and provoked him to come out with a stick!

After our trip to the shell island (which had more trash than shells, but we did find a few good ones!), Andy tried his luck at fishing again. He caught this little guy not once, not twice, but three times while fishing near the Lighthouse. (By the way, Andy's version of this fishing tale is that he caught three separate small catfish... but I beg to differ)

After paddling for miles and being out in the sun for hours, we decided to call it quits. But not until Andy had a chance to put his line in at a little cove we found on our way toward the lighthouse. Sure enough, he finally caught one of the little jumping fish that had been taunting him all afternoon. We didn't end up with anything worth taking home, but at least he felt a little bit vindicated. And we did get our seafood. We just had to stop and order it at a restaurant on the way home. :)